Trump’s First Venezuela Oil Deal: A Megadonor’s Golden Handshake
The Financial Times highlights that Donald Trump's initial foray into Venezuela's oil sales involved a company connected to a Republican megadonor. This kind of financial synergy, where political influence directly translates into lucrative business deals during sanctions, is less an anomaly and more a feature of certain political economies. (One might call it 'crony capitalism' if one were
feeling less polite than the FT). While mainstream outlets occasionally spotlight these 'coincidences,' they rarely contextualize them within the broader history of US foreign policy, where 'democracy promotion' often aligns perfectly with the interests of favored corporations and well-placed donors. Critics might suggest that the 'free market' occasionally requires a bit of government
intervention—especially when it benefits the politically connected. It appears some countries are ripe for market 'liberalization' while others are simply ripe for the picking by those who bought the right tickets to the political fundraiser.